International Women's Day Interview: DJ Paroma, Celebrity DJ

Paroma: My name is Paroma, NOT a staunch Bengali, born and
brought up in Mumbai. After being a cabin crew for around 5 years, I am now a
guest dj who plays in India and across the globe. I absolutely adore my job ,
love my family and a little proud of my achievements.

ST:
Who is a woman that inspires you the most and why?

Paroma: Every woman inspires me in some way or
th​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​e other, but the closest I can relate to is my Mother. I
was brought up most of my life under her loving care. She is one of the few
women I know has stood fiercely against all odds only to raise her children and
let go off all her peace and happiness only to make sure we had a deserving
future. Yes, she has also been quite strict in my younger days, but I am glad
she was. We have one life and in that if someone spends most of his/her life
sacrificing then why isn't he/she supposed to be my hero? Especially when its
my own Mother.

ST:
How are you celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day?

Paroma: Yes, I am going to celebrate it by simply saying a
small prayer and thanking God for giving us what we have and for making us
'Women'. I am going to celebrate it by acknowledging all what we have achieved
so far, hoping to cross even larger barriers in the future.

ST:
What is the most important message you want to send out to all the women around
the world on this occasion?

Paroma: All I would like to say to the all the dynamic ladies
around the world .. please assert your place in the sun, fight for what you
deserve, let no one belittle you and most importantly, love yourself and find
that inner peace.

ST:
What according to you is ‘women empowerment’?

Paroma: A few pointers that I strongly believe make an
integral part of women empowerment are :

- Gender Equality

- Respect

- Appreciation of the
challenges she faces throughout her life

- Right to make her
own choices

ST:
What would you say are the main
challenges women face at present globally?

Paroma: I think, domestic violence, trafficking, sex
selection, abortion and female foeticide, denial of right to education and rape
are sadly the problems women face across the world. How I wish all the women
were physically as strong as men. We all say gender equality must be practiced
everywhere but I just don't see that happening. Yes, I support equal rights for
women and strongly feel if a woman isn't being treated the same for doing the
same job that a man is, and am being called a feminist then, OKAY!

ST:
Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?

Paroma: I don't like making plans for myself. I believe in
living for the moment as none of us have seen the future. So, I don't quite see
myself anywhere, but what I would like to attempt is owning a small cafe and
may be start a chain if it does well and actively be a part of an animal
welfare NGO.